Dowry Creek has become one of our favorite marinas now that they have opened a restaurant onsite with craft beers and very good prices. We stop here heading south and north to grab a beer and appetizers.
We also used the marina loaner car to run into town and buy a hose fitting at Ace Hardware. Our washdown hose which sits out in the sun all year long had basically disintegrated. We had a spare hose but needed the fitting to attach the nozzle.
The Pamlico and Neuse Rivers can be very rough just like the Albermarle Sound so you have to watch the weather closely and pick your days to transit. We had light winds the whole day and motored mostly but, we were able to get a lift with the headsail when the wind came up midday. It was nice sailing for a few hours but soon the wind decreased and shifted astern and we were back to motoring. We did make good time though and arrived at Oriental early afternoon.
There are 5 spots to tie up at the free Oriental town docks and we snagged one of them right off the coffee shop. The water was unusually low and we were just able to get into the dock basically touching the muddy bottom.
We planned on staying 2 days at Oriental because a cold front was blowing through with strong winds. We moved over to a different dock for better protection from the winds, and tucked in right beside a large fishing trawler that blocked all the wind.
Thank goodness we shifted docks as the wind blew 6 inches of water out of the harbor. Given we were just touching the bottom at our previous spot, we would have been high and dry until the wind blew water back into the river.
Oriental is a great place to stop as their are restaurants and cafes and grocery store all within walking distance. Sue ran up to the Piggly Wiggly for a couple items and ended up with 20# of ice to carry back.
There's a new Mexican food truck in Oriental just across from the town docks. Sue chatted extensively with the owner and we had breakfast burritos and lunch chicken stew from them. This will be another favorite place to stop along the ICW.
Also we stopped at the Bean Cafe for a latte and cinnamon roll. Not losing much weight this trip, but we did get several long walks in over our 2-day stay.
Here's a good overview of the Oriental harbor. In the summer there are a gaggle of boats anchored off the marinas but this Jan, only one lone sailboat.
After the frontal passage, which wasn't nearly has strong as forecasted, but nice to be in a protected spot, we are off early Sat morning to get to and through the Onslow swing bridge and anchored before dark.
